In engines used in cars, two-wheeled motor vehicles and large generators, a starting operation is generally performed by an electric starter mounted to an engine. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of such a starter, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the starter of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the starter 101 uses an electric starter motor 102, and a pinion gear 103 is rotary-driven via a reduction gear mechanism (not shown) and an overrunning clutch (not shown). The pinion gear 103 is mounted movably in an axial direction. When a starter switch is turned ON, the pinion gear 103 is moved by the operation of a magnet switch (not shown) in the axial direction and brought into engagement with a ring gear 104 of the engine.
In this starter 101, as shown in FIG. 5, there is provided an external terminal 105 for supplying power source to the starter motor 102 and the magnet switch. The external terminal 105 includes a motor power source terminal 105a and a switch terminal 105b, each protruding outward from a gear cover 106 of the starter 101. The motor power source terminal 105a is connected directly to a battery (not shown), and when the magnet switch is turned ON, power is supplied from the battery to the starter motor 102. The switch terminal 105b is connected to an engine control unit (ECU), and when the starter switch is turned ON, power is supplied to the magnet switch.    Patent Document 1: Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 9-324727
However, in this starter 101, since the switch terminal 105b is located in a region out of the range of projection of the gear cover 106, there is a problem that the area of projection of the entire starter is enlarged, making it difficult to lay out in a car body. Moreover, as can be clearly seen from FIG. 5, since the switch terminal 105b protrudes alone from the gear cover 106, there is also a problem that the switch terminal 105b collides with or is caught by an object of some kind easily when it is mounted to the car body. If the switch terminal 105b collides with any other object, there is a risk of leading to a damaged terminal or a disconnected lead wire. Therefore, it has been desired to eliminate the above-described problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a starter having a small entire area of projection, wherein the switch terminal is at low risk of being broken by colliding with an object of some kind.